1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication terminal, a server unit, and a mail incoming notification system that make an incoming notification of electronic mail.
2. Description of Prior Art
Conventionally, a general user, for example, a user whose terminal is not connected to a LAN sent and received electronic mail (hereinafter referred to as mail) via the Internet by entering into a contact with an Internet service provider, and connecting a communication terminal, such as his or her own personal computer, to the Internet service provider via public networks. That is, to know mail incoming as well, the general user had to check whether the mail arrives at his or her own mailbox of a mail server in an Internet service provider by connecting the communication terminal to the Internet service provider via public networks. When the user cannot connect the communication terminal to the Internet service provider through this method, the user cannot know the arrival even if important mail arrives. Accordingly, there was a high possibility of corrective action being delayed.
Hereupon, in recent years, a mail incoming notification system described in Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 11-252160 has been known. In the invention described in Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 11-252160, the user previously sets a condition for a Internet service provider using browser software or the like, and makes an incoming notification to the user's communication terminal when the mail that the Internet service provider received matched the condition. FIG. 1 shows the block diagram. FIG. 1 shows a portable terminal unit that the user carries with him or her and on which a mail sending and receiving application is mounted, a communication terminal, such as a personal computer, and an Internet service provider, for example, a provider having a server unit that distributes the mail received from the Internet to the communication terminal connected to public networks and sends the electronic mail sent from the communication terminal to public networks to the Internet. A communication terminal 1301 has an input means 130101 that accepts input of a keyboard or a mouse, a condition setting means 130102 for setting a mail incoming notification condition for a provider, a mail sending means 130103 that sends mail, a mail receiving means 130104 that receives the mail, and a connection means 130105 that connects the communication terminal to the Internet service provider via public networks. An Internet service provider 1305 who performs mediation between public networks and the Internet connection and manages and stores the mail received via the Internet is constituted of a Web server 1304, a condition management server 1303, and a mail server 1302, and a network, such as a LAN (Local Area Network), is connected among them.
The Web server 1304 has a condition storage means 130401 that receives an incoming notification condition set via software, such as browser, from the communication terminal 1301 and stores it in a condition management database. The condition management server 1303 has a condition management database 130301 that manages user information on public networks, such as users' telephone numbers, and the incoming notification condition, such as a mail sender (From). The mail server 1302 has a receiving means 130202 that stores the mail received via the Internet in a mailbox 130205, a decision means 130203 that acquires the incoming notification condition of a destination user from the header of receiving mail and decides from the condition management database 130301 that the condition matches, an incoming notification means 130204 that accepts the decision result and actually makes an incoming notification to the destination user, a distribution means 130206 that distributes the mail to the user, and a sending means 130201 that sends the mail.
The operation will be described. First, the operation when a mail incoming notification condition is registered from the communication terminal 1301 into the Internet service provider 1305 is described. The user starts up software, such as browser, from the input means 130101, such as a keyboard, and connects the communication terminal to the Web server 1304 via public networks using the connection means 130105. Further, the mail incoming notification condition, for example, the mail sender (From) is input from the input means 130101 and the condition is sent to the Web server 1304 using the condition setting means 130102. The Web server 1304 stores the condition in the condition management database 130301 of the condition management server 1303 using the condition storage means 130301. This operation sets the incoming notification condition for the condition management database 130301 of the Internet service provider 1305.
Subsequently, the case where the Internet service provider 1305 receives mail via the Internet and issues an incoming notification to the communication terminal 1301 is described. When the mail server 1302 receives the mail via the Internet using the receiving means 130202 and stores it in the mailbox 130205, a destination address is extracted from the header of the receiving mail by the decision means 130203 and the incoming notification condition for the destination address and user information, such as telephone numbers over public networks, are acquired from a condition management database. Further, it is matched whether the incoming notification condition acquired by the decision means 130203 is provided in the receiving mail header. If the condition does not match, no incoming notification is made. When the condition matches, an incoming notification is made to the communication terminal 1301 of the destination address via public networks using the user information by the incoming notification means 130204.
If a provider receives the mail that matches the incoming notification condition set from the user in this manner, the mail incoming notification is sent to the communication terminal 1301 as far as the condition is not changed.
In the invention described in Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 11-252160, unlike the connection to the Internet service provider at mail sending and receiving, connection is made and a condition is set using browser. For example, if the connection is made to the provider and a certain sender (From) is previously set as the condition using the browser, the setting was a static condition setting that an incoming notification is made each time the sender mail that matches the condition is received as far as the condition is not changed. However, to set the mail related to the sending mail, for example, a reply as the incoming notification condition, a message ID is necessary as the only condition for settling it. The message ID is assigned by a mail server or communication terminal at mail sending. Accordingly, in the invention described in Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 11-252160, after the mail is sent, the message ID could not be registered as the incoming notification condition unless a means for acquiring the message ID and a means for registering it as the incoming notification condition are provided.
Consequently, in the invention described in Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 11-252160, there was a problem that although a static condition setting can be realized, such a dynamic condition setting linked with mail sending and receiving is disabled that sets the incoming of the mail that is related closely to sending mail, for example, a reply to a piece of mail as an incoming notification condition when it is sent and makes an incoming notification and resets a condition when the corresponding reply was received. Further, in Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 11-252160, there was also a problem that an incoming notification is enabled only with the receiving of the mail for a contract user from the Internet and the contents that an Internet service provider ought to post to the user, for example, system fault detection and maintenance information cannot be post spontaneously as the incoming notification.
An object of the present invention is to provide a communication terminal, a server unit, and a mail incoming notification system that make an incoming notification of the mail that is related closely to sending mail, such as solving this and other problems and making the incoming notification for a reply to the sending mail, and that can post the contents that an Internet service provider ought to post to the user as the incoming notification.